"O BROTHER, where art thou?"

After discussing the larger scale “problems” that have eroded the power and witness of our modern-day Charismatic churches, I thought it would be appropriate to begin dialoguing and provoking thoughts on SOLUTIONS.  As I am sure many of you have already been spending time on the very subject.  I would love to hear your thoughts as well. 

 

The Church... ONE Body of the redeemed in Christ,
assembled throughout the world, testified in countless voices.

 As powerful and glorious as it all sounds (and it is), yet finding UNITY within this supernatural body of people has increasingly become such a difficult piece of the puzzle.  Why?  We know that other religions have various “branches” of the same faith, but shouldn’t more be expected from those who are sealed and filled with the very Spirit of the Living God?  If we have the power to lay hands on the sick and cast out devils, surely it should be a “piece of cake” for modern day Christians to simply unify… to come together as one voice, right??  Well, I think we all know the answer to that one... history answers this question with a resounding no.  In fact it seems the further we are from our humble roots, the further we get away from UNITY -even with modern day technology at our side.  But should this really be the case?

Before we go any further, allow me to preface:  
In no way is this article meant to diminish or dilute in anyway what the Church has accomplished over the years.. for many lives have been changed and transformed with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Overall, I believe that the Church has certainly progressed, but unity within the Body has remained stagnant at best.  Some would even argue that it has increasingly declined.  So what’s the problem?  We have bigger buildings, more programs, nicer platforms, but no more UNITY than the local VFW!  Lots of talk about “moving forward”, but really going no where as far as making a lasting impact on the culture of a generation OUTSIDE the church walls.  In fact, it even seems at times that the very “idea of unity” itself is nothing more than a desert mirage, being chased by the young minds of every passing generation.   

But should this "news flash" really come as a surprise? 
If you keep pushing the same button, how are you going to expect a different result?  Or rather if you keep pushing the wrong button, how do you expect to produce the right result?  

A majority of our problem in the Body of Christ is that most leaders are more committed to their PET DOCTRINES and CULTURAL TRADITIONS than they are to the overall spiritual condition of the Church!  Not to mention those who have gotten "lost" seeking after that first "high" they hit on the pipe of Charismania Stardom...  How do you go from preaching against the religious practices of Catholicism, to dressing just like them?  Does your “title”, "collar" and "ring"... make you more holy?  Perhaps producing "material appearances" of spiritual fruit is easier than producing transformed hearts.  "O BROTHER, where art thou?" 

Today's average believer will typically find themselves following one or the other:
Leadership A)
Believes unity in the Body of Christ simply cannot be accomplished until Jesus returns.

Leadership B)

Decrees it will be accomplished as we progressively “take dominion” over the systems of the world… delivering the Kingdom to Christ when he returns. 

 

I am firmly persuaded that NONE of the above are correct.    

Imagine the Church as a Building:

Christ laying the foundation as the Cornerstone and the Apostles beginning with the Acts of the New Testament building upon that and so on and so forth until today.  If each generation does not effectively finish their portion of the "wall", the next generation will have to pick up where they left off.  Not to mention those who have erected a faulty wall and left it behind as an inheritance for their children to correct.  God forbid we continue to wander in the same section of the wilderness for 40 years!!  How frustrating is it to be stuck and "indefinitely stopped" on the job with no movement and no power in solving the source for the delay?!  Could it be the problem lies with the LABORERS?? and possibly their ability to COMMUNICATE the same "MESSAGE"... hmmm... Tower of Babel anyone?  What is it that we are REALLY trying to build here?? 

WHERE ARE THE NEHEMIAHS OF TODAY? 

 Those who SEE the spiritual condition of the walls of the Church and are moved enough to DO something about it...

I submit to you that Unity is possible, but it will never manifest in a "Tower" of our own fleshly agendas.  And certainly NOT when all groups come together under the guise of fleshly leadership, seed-faith prosperity gospel, revival, or any other latest fade “movements”.  In fact why would God want to “revive” anything that is not working??

Matt. 9: 37, 38 “Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to SEND OUT workers INTO his harvest field [world].”

"O BROTHER, where art thou?"

My question is:  Does a field of harvest, harvest itself?  Why then do the majority of churches WAIT for the lost to find their way into the building??  This “button” is not working.  Worse yet, some of us workers continue to passively sit in churches that we KNOW are filled with unrepented sin and fleshly agendas.  Can such FRUIT produce an atmosphere of holiness and truth that would even be able to SUSTAIN new believers?  If leadership is still bound to sexual sin and addiction themselves, how then are they able to free anyone else?  Not to mention, how quickly  new members are ordered to stand in the line of obedience and submission to the "spiritual covering" of a Man.  And we all know if you are without THEIR covering, "they are vessels without lids, bastards, unclean..."  Really?  No wonder the world doesn't take our message serious, we "sound" JUST like them.  Does our "Good News" really have the power to change or not? 

Church... it's PAST TIME to wake up and get BACK to the authentic message of the Cross.  THE HARVEST IS READY AND WAITING!  In fact the Church needs to stop saying "we are waiting on God for a move" –HE IS WAITING UPON US.

John 17:20-23 “My prayer is not for them alone [believers]. I pray also for those who will believe in me through THEIR MESSAGE,  that all of them may be ONE, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be ONE as we are one —I in them and you in me— so that they may be brought to complete UNITY. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."    

We clearly see in the above scripture that  UNITY  is found when:

Our Core Message becomes UNIFIED.  Notice I did not say when our "cultural or denominational differences" become the same or "one".  But rather UNITY in the Body comes when we keep the Gospel of Jesus Christ at the HEARTBEAT of our cause.  THIS MISSION should be the driving force behind all that we do... our main purpose for assembling every week.  This will also safeguard us from placing too much emphasis on teachings that should remain in the "backseat" instead of front and center.

If we veer away from the Message of the Cross and the Power of the Resurrection, how will the world know that OUR MESSAGE is The ONLY Way?  Are we of the same GLORY as the Father gave the Son??  Are we of their UNITY in Purpose, Mind, and View??  Has such LOVE persuaded us to forsake all and pick up our cross?  Are we truly BUILDING THE BODY for ministry and MAKING DISCIPLES?? 

We repackage prosperity, redemption, grace, justification, sanctification, and atonement to the point that there is no distinct difference between our “message” and that of the "world." 

It seems to me that the modern-day American Church (at large) is increasingly emphasizing everything BUT the message of the Gospel.  Simply throwing the name "Jesus" on at the end of a sermon, doesn't fil the bill.  Almost like an after thought... Oh, here's a bone, come forward and give Jesus a try, He came to calm the storms and make it your best life now!  Then you've got the sensationalist gospel stars in the other corner... Be sure to sow that $eed covenant partners, you must "release" it in order to receive "this word".  Money, cometh!  Lord help us!  There is so much emphasis on everything else... no wonder the world is confused!  How can an unbeliever even distinguish what Our Message is, when there's 10 different "voices" pushing 10 different agendas?  Not to mention taking the confusion to a whole new level, by broadcasting it to the world as "Christian TV"... need I say more?  

There is NO distinct UNITY in our Churches, because we have lost

PASSION in UNIFYING for the heartbeat of our Cause.     

My brothers and sisters, we can no longer afford to turn a blind eye.  Do you not perceive the spiritual condition of our generation?  Do you not notice the hour is getting later and later??  Are you too busy waiting for YOUR next breakthrough to notice that even our own are anemic and sick from a poor spiritual diet??  We must once again carry a “Nehemiah Burden” for the spiritual condition of the walls of the church.  What has become of our message?  Our pulpits must once again be filled with an aguish of burden for the lost and preaching the Gospel at any cost.  Let us return to building upon our FOUNDATION.  Is there not a cause?